RAMALLAH, May 18 (JMCC) - Haaretz commentator Aluf Benn says that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is headed to Washington this week to gather support for Israel before the third Palestinian intifada.

According to Benn, Netanyahu's speech in the Knesset this week indicates that he is preparing for confrontation, and any hints of concessions are merely intended to show that he is flexible.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's foreign-policy address to the Knesset on Monday made one thing clear: He is preparing for a confrontation with the Palestinians. On the eve of his trip to the United States, Netanyahu sought to muster public opinion and create internal unity. The purpose of his trip to Washington is to maintain U.S. support for Israel ahead of the third intifada.

Netanyahu's situation assessment is chilling. The Middle East is in the throes of instability. Iran and its allies, Hezbollah and Hamas - the new oppressor, as Netanyahu called them, using a word reserved for some of the greatest villains in Jewish history - seek to destroy Israel and the Jewish people. Israel has no Palestinian partner for negotiations and a peace agreement, and there will be no such partner in the years ahead.

In the pivotal portion of his speech, Netanyahu referred to the Palestinian girl at the Nakba Day demonstration in Bil'in who held a large key. Every Palestinian understands what key this is. It is not the key to their homes in Bil'in or Nablus or Ramallah, it is the key to our homes in Jaffa, Acre, Haifa and Ramle. The message is clear: We are fighting for our homes. They want to get rid of us and establish Palestine on the ruins of Israel. Now is the time to dig in and and fight them.